Weekly Information - Friday 10th May 2024

We'd like to take this opportunity to say well done to all our Year 13 students for their hard-work in the run up to their exams. We know you'll give your best efforts over the coming weeks and everyone is really proud of you! We hope you enjoyed your ice-creams this afternoon on your last day! 

This week Year 10 had the opportunity to experience, possibly for the first time, what’s involved to be successful in an interview. The Mock Interview process is a great insight for our students who over the next year will be preparing for apprenticeships, 6^th form applications and college courses.

The sessions are led in an informal and relaxed environment by a group of volunteers from Bridge Builders, who have years of interview experience under their belt. During the interview the students are asked about why they have chosen their GCSE subjects and what their key interests within those subjects. The interviewers also go into depth about any involvement in extra-curricular activities to highlight soft skills that are transferable and relevant in the workplace.

Mrs Spurrier, Sixth Form Administrator & Work Related Co-ordinator said ‘the students all did fantastic and conducted themselves extremely professionally. There is nothing more pleasing than hearing positive feedback from the volunteers and I hope our students can see the benefits of taking part in a process like this’.

Once all the interviews have been conducted, it is the job of the interviewers to provide feedback, which is invaluable to our students. Feedback can include anything from the way they communicate, their level of confidence and their delivery of answers.

Sessions like these are the epitome of our school’s vision of ‘one community, striving for personal excellence’. Thank you to the volunteers for bringing this experience to life and well done to all our Year 10s for their enthusiasm and professionalism.

To find out more about careers, please visit: Students - John Taylor High School (jths.co.uk)

On Wednesday 1^st May, our Year 9 English students had the opportunity to visit The Birmingham Hippodrome to watch Willy Russell’s iconic Blood Brothers.

The trip was led by Miss Davis and the first time the faculty had organised to see the show along with 65 pupils. Miss Davis said ‘our students thoroughly enjoyed the show. Witnessing the cultural shifts in British society through an emotionally charged performance, helped to encourage students to ponder of the didacticism of Russell’s play. A standing ovation from students and staff!’

The experience was invaluable and allowed the students to gain a greater understanding of the play and Willy Russell’s dramatic intentions, which directly links with the Blood Brothers topic from the spring term. The students' highlights included: the beautiful songs, emotionally rich dialogue, and the historic context of 1980s Britain depicted in a thought-provoking manner.

Many thanks to parents and guardians for supporting this experience and to all the staff and students involved for making this trip such a success.

If you or someone you know would like to join us for our Community Afternoon Tea, please RSVP by calling reception.

...become an exhibitor at our Careers Fair 2024.

On Friday 12^th July between 9am-1.10pm, we are holding our annual Careers Fair which gives businesses & universities the opportunity to promote their workplace, courses, apprenticeships and careers available.

Students in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12, will get the chance to visit our exhibitors stands to find more about potential career pathways and begin to make connections. Current exhibitors who are attending our Careers Fair include Staffordshire Police, Luminate Careers, Pick Everard Architects, The NHS, and a number of national Universities.

We would like to extend the invite to parents & friends of the school who would like to exhibit at our Careers Fair. If you own a local business, or work in a particular sector that can offer courses or career pathways (sales, marketing & media, leisure & hospitality, finance, technology, pharmaceuticals, property, arts, HR, social care, law, or any other relevant field) please get in touch, we would love to hear from you!

To book your slot to exhibit, please email Mrs Spurrier on [email protected].

Here are some images from our Careers Fair last year:

On the 7^th May, staff members joined together for the grand reveal of the new and improved staff room, to enjoy a coffee and delicious pastries provided by the school canteen.

The new facility, available to the school’s 170 employees, is a hub of activity for staff breaks, informal meetings, somewhere to enjoy lunch and to keep up to date with staff news and information. The new facilities are aesthetically pleasing and give a fresh and vibrant feel with lots of natural light flooding through the large windows. There are a selection of seating areas, plants, music, a newly installed kitchen area and a coffee machine with complimentary coffee pods.

The 6-week project was led by Mrs McConnell, Business Manager, and the school’s Site Team which included extensive building, electrical, painting and plumbing works to bring it all together. Mrs McConnell said ‘the new staff room is a wonderful addition to our staff facilities and further embeds staff well-being within our every-day culture. The aim of the sleek and contemporary design is to promote a space that is calming and encourages creativity and inspiration’. 

Over the last 18-months, Miss Crutchley and Miss Senior have also been working hard behind the scenes with The Well-Being Award which we are delighted to announce has been accredited to the school. During the intense process there were lots of challenges, but it was a delight when the assessor made some lovely comments about how the school supports staff well-being on various levels. We are excited to share more details once the report is published.

Thank you to everyone involved in the staff room project and those involved in the well-being award which only strengthens our wonderful school community!

Derbyshire Police - Recruitment Event - Ripley HQ on the 11^th May 2024.

The careers event aims to show potential candidates the variety of roles we offer from Constable, Detective, Volunteer & Staff. We hope to have over 20 departments attend, as well as the recruitment team to answer any questions regarding the application process. 

This would be a great event for students to increase their knowledge on career prospects, speak to serving staff & officers and see where their career could take them. 

To attend, candidates must register via this link: External Events - Shared HR Service Centre (tal.net). If candidates do not register, they cannot attend. 

We have three time slots to choose from, 10am to 11am, 11:15am – 12:15pm & 12:30pm – 13:30pm.

We have a school crossing patrol vacancy for the Main Street/Dunstall Road crossing point, this would be a job share with the current patrol, the times and days to be discussed with applicant. 

More details can be found here: School Crossing Patrol (Burton, Uttoxeter and Tamworth) | No Expiry Date | Jobs and careers with Staffordshire County Council

Or call Caroline Pegg on 07773 791 502 

Dear Parent/Carer,

I am delighted to inform you that John Taylor High School has signed up for a new initiative to support families and schools called Six4Schools introduced by the Birmingham Bears.

What is Six4Schools?

Six4Schools is an initiative by Birmingham Bears which offers adult tickets starting at £13 (normally £25) for their T20 matches this summer when using a discount code unique to the school. U5s are always free and 5-15 year olds £5.

Our school will benefit because for every adult ticket sold, the school will receive £6 back. As an example, if we sell 200 adult tickets, we will receive £1200! This is meant to be used to reinvest in the education of the pupils (for e.g., for: computer equipment, playground equipment, or cricket coaching sessions).

It’s a great opportunity for the school and hopefully a chance for you to enjoy the incredible T20 atmosphere at Edgbaston this summer.

To purchase your tickets, follow the instructions below:

1. visit: Tickets.Edgbaston.com

2. At the top of the page enter this promotional code: JTHS24

3. Select the Birmingham Bears fixture you would like to attend this summer (please note the discount only applies to Saturday 8 June and Sunday 14 July fixtures). If you did not enter the promotional code before this can also be done here on the right-hand side of the page.

4. Select the stand in which you would like to purchase your tickets. U16s must be accompanied by an adult and for every 1 adult ticket sold, 5 U16 tickets may be selected.

5. Make your payment using your credit/debit card

You will receive your tickets via email.

It would be fantastic to see as many parents as possible take advantage of this offer to head to Edgbaston this summer to watch some exciting cricket and in the process help us win the interactive board!

Yours Sincerely,

Miss Dean